Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
The Mr. Local History Project is about bringing New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant, not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1692: Salem witch trials: In Salem, province of Massachusetts Bay, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and clergyman George Burroughs are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
- 1782: American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks: The last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
- 1848: California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
- 1854: The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.
- 1934: The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
- 1955: In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
- 1981: Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States F-14A Tomcat fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
- 1991: Crown Heights riot in New York City begins.
What Can You Do Today to Celebrate America’s 250th?
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
YES… a Revolutionary Pub Crawl for America 250 is Coming to Bernardsville, New Jersey
Views: 188 YES… a Revolutionary Pub Crawl for America 250 is coming to Bernardsville, New Jersey, Saturday, October 10, 2026. Is there a better way to honor America’s 250th anniversary than to join General Washington, Ben Franklin & other time…
Crane Farm: The Little Farm Stand Preserves Basking Ridge’s Farming Past
Views: 593 RUMOR CONFIRMED:As Crane Farm approaches another turning point, word has begun circulating that Tyson and Doris Mertz are retiring October 31, 2026 and will not be renewing their lease with Somerset County. The Mertzes have not owned the…
Mashing Crime History to Maps and Apps
Views: 6,334 Imagine relocating to a city or state where you have no family or friends to help you evaluate different neighborhoods. You can easily compare home prices, property taxes, schools, commute times, restaurants, and traffic. But finding reliable, current,t…
Meandering Basking Ridge’s Newest Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 2,038 The Millington Quarry property in the Millington section of Bernards Township is one of the largest former industrial sites in Somerset County and has been the focus of redevelopment discussions for more than a decade. Covering approximately 180…
Noe Pond & the Browers- Chatham’s Swim Club People Remember
Views: 134 Noe Pond began as a natural, spring-fed farm pond on the Noe family’s roughly 800-acre property in Chatham Township. Dating to before the Revolutionary War, the pond supplied water to the family’s dairy farm, rose greenhouses, and surrounding…
Millington’s Millridge Swim Club Bulldozed Back into the Great Swamp Landscape
Views: 146 Before the Millridge Swim Club existed, it was known as Reggie’s Playland Farm, and we found a strange real estate listing from 2002 that read: This story is part of the Mr. Local History Project’s New Jersey Swim…
Westfield’s Rialto Theater History and Next Chapter
Views: 99 UPDATE: A New Life for Westfield’s Rialto After sitting largely dormant since closing as a movie theater in 2019, Westfield’s historic Rialto is now headed toward a major rebirth. In July 2026, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority…
Celebrating 100 Years of the Cranford Theater
Views: 414 As Cranford prepares to celebrate the theater’s 100th birthday on November 29, 2026, we’re taking a look back at the little movie house that became a Cranford institution, and the generations of people who have kept coming through…
NJ Cinemas Honored in Exclusive Miniature Wooden Collection
Views: 8,082 Remembering classic movie theaters that not only showed first-rate films, but anchored our towns and kept us full of memories. Three of the last remaining old-time, downtown movie theaters in New Jersey, each with over a century of…
History Remembers Lost Swim Clubs – Now It’s Your Turn
Views: 481 For many families growing up in the Somerset Hills and surrounding communities, summer meant one thing: the local swim club. From the 1950s through the 1980s, private clubs, lakes, beaches, and municipal pools became summertime gathering places where…
Looking Back at Millington’s Clover Hill Swim Club
Views: 1,323 Clover Hill Swimming ClubA Beloved Summer Retreat That Changed New Jersey History This story is part of the Mr. Local History Project’s New Jersey Swim Club Series, exploring the neighborhood pools, freshwater ponds, and private clubs that shaped…
Our Summer 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.